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Speaker 1: Now it has been speaking of money, it's been revealed

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Speaker 1: today that water Care in Auckland has struck a secret

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Speaker 1: deal to pay Ye Cuttle's tying that we ewe twenty

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Speaker 1: million bucks. It'll be one million dollars every year for

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Speaker 1: twenty years now. The agreement seems related to water Care

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Speaker 1: winning the ability to be able to draw more water

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Speaker 1: from the White Cuttle River when Auckland was in drought.

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Speaker 1: Dave Chambers is the chief executive at Watercare. Hey, Dave, hi, Heather,

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Speaker 1: why do you keep it a secret?

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Speaker 2: Well, it's as we've as things have unfolded today. Certainly

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Speaker 2: for had our time again, we would have announced things

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Speaker 2: in a different way. We have been working with Waikato

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Speaker 2: Tainui on some of these issues since twenty twenty where

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Speaker 2: we had our first cohenata and it was refreshed last

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Speaker 2: year and we signed in December of last year. So

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Speaker 2: I certainly apologized to Auckland as if they feel as

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Speaker 2: anything untoward with that.

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Speaker 1: So you think there was something Dave, No, no, no,

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Speaker 1: So explain to me why a secret?

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Speaker 2: Well, we didn't keep it a secret, and really clarify

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Speaker 2: that it's a maximum of a million dollars.

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Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, no, I'm not ready to talk about that.

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Speaker 1: I'm not ready to talk about that, Dave. I want

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Speaker 1: to know where you kept it a secret? You and

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Speaker 1: Taynui mutually agreed not to release a press release. Why?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, if we had our time again, No.

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Speaker 1: Why Dave? When you made that decision, you made it

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Speaker 1: for a reason, and what was that reason?

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Speaker 2: Well, as it's said, I can only apologize.

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Speaker 1: No, Dave, par you owe me an explanation. I am

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Speaker 1: a ratepayer, as are so many people listening to this.

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Speaker 1: Why did you not tell us? Why did you decide

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Speaker 1: to keep it from us?

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Speaker 2: It was a refreshed agreement from twenty twenty, Heather, and

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Speaker 2: it was announced at that time.

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Speaker 1: I know that that is on the record. Why did

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Speaker 1: you keep it a secret?

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Speaker 2: Well, I don't think we did keep it a secret.

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Speaker 1: Why did you? Can let me rephrase it that you

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Speaker 1: can understand this. Why did you not release a press release?

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Speaker 1: Why did you decide to not release a press release?

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Speaker 2: Well, as a stay, we would do it differently if

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Speaker 2: we're having why and what it does?

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Speaker 1: Come on? You guys made who You made this decision

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Speaker 1: for a reason. What was that reason? Because I'm going

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Speaker 1: to fill the blanket for you right now. The reason

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Speaker 1: was that we were going to react the way that

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Speaker 1: we're reacting right now. You didn't want this bad attention?

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Speaker 1: Is that right?

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Speaker 2: No, that's not the case at all.

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Speaker 1: So what was the case?

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Speaker 2: Well? With the as I said, all I can do

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Speaker 2: is apologize for not refreshing our media statement from that

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Speaker 2: refreshed agreement.

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Speaker 1: Okay, what is this money being spent on?

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Speaker 2: So I'd like to clarify that it's a maximum of

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Speaker 2: a million dollars a year for projects to improve the

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Speaker 2: water quality of particularly the lower reaches the Awa the

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Speaker 2: Waikato River. Today, no money has been paid. And because

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Speaker 2: the joint working Party is just starting its work and

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Speaker 2: there'll be a five year plan, representeds from both parties

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Speaker 2: report to both organizations and as to how that funding

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Speaker 2: will be allocated and particularly what outcomes will be delivered.

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Speaker 1: Does that money, that million bucks a year include paying

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Speaker 1: the costs of two Kaitiaki two guardians?

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Speaker 2: No, I think it's for some secretariat support for the

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Speaker 2: group what a joint working party, and there'll be a

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Speaker 2: program lead for the projects that that we've worked on

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Speaker 2: to improve the water quality. So this isn't it's it's

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Speaker 2: not unusual to what's completely usual that that our water

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Speaker 2: catchments have protection programs. And this is the White Ketto

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Speaker 2: River supplies normally twenty percent of orphans drinking water.

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Speaker 1: Who else are you making these payments for? Who else

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Speaker 1: are you paying in order to be able to draw

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Speaker 1: water out for people to drink?

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Speaker 2: We're not paying these people to draw water out to drink.

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Speaker 2: Payments are for if approach, what these payments are for

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Speaker 2: and what the projects are for is to try and

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Speaker 2: improve the quality of the White cam on day.

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Speaker 1: Anyone knows, is this not a condition of getting your consent?

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Speaker 2: The two millions for the why Keto River Authority was

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Speaker 2: a condition of consent?

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Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, all right, okay, how much is it costing

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Speaker 1: every household?

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Speaker 2: Well, we've got FO one hundred and eighty five thousand

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Speaker 2: connected cut them is a cross Auckland social and residential.

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Speaker 1: So it's twenty million divided by four hundred and eighty

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Speaker 1: five thousand.

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Speaker 2: No, it's a maximum of a million dollars a year

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Speaker 2: for projects to improve the water quality. And as have

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Speaker 2: said to date, we haven't paid any money and because

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Speaker 2: the projects haven't been scoped as to what they'll what

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Speaker 2: they are and what they'll contribute to water quality improvements.

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Speaker 1: All right, Dave, thank you. Dave Chambers, chief executive at

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Speaker 1: water Care Heather caught red handed. Does he think ratepayers

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Speaker 1: are stupid? Yes, I think he does. Sane Hither, I

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Speaker 1: have to keep checking my radio to see if it's

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Speaker 1: working because of the long gaps. Peter, Hither, you need

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Speaker 1: to borrow Mike's trucks and clown cars. That water Care

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Speaker 1: guy is a humpty shell. Hither the convoys are coming

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Speaker 1: through and fast through this interview here. The ratepayers would

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Speaker 1: have closed this down had we been told. And that

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Speaker 1: right there is why they kept it secret. Because he

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Speaker 1: didn't like what just happened to him. He didn't like

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Speaker 1: having to explain it, and they didn't want to have to,

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Speaker 1: and they hope we'd never find out. I'm very happy

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Speaker 1: to say that, I'm very happy to come up with

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Speaker 1: that little conspiracy theory right there. For more from Hither

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Speaker 1: Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks.

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Speaker 2: It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast

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Speaker 2: on iHeartRadio